Works Cited

Blake, David Haven. "Los Angeles, 1960: John F. Kennedy and Whitman's Ship of Democracy."

Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, vol. 28, no. 1, 2010, p. 60+. Literature Resource

Center,

go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=lap17ehs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA24905

8702&it=r&asid=a81313719ebccd9998dd4f936b9a65e1. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017. In his

piece, "John F. Kennedy and Whitman's Ship of Democracy," Blake discusses Whitman's

relationship with American democracy and presidents. He claims that he was destined to

address America in his poetry, as his brother's names were George Washington, Thomas

Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson Whitman. This is an attention grabbing and quite

humorous way to open the piece. Whitman even went as far as to compare his poetic

success to the presidency in his poem when "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard

Bloom'd." Presidents throughout history acknowledged Whitman and sometimes even

interacted with him. Bill Clinton even quoted Whitman during his presidency and gave a

copy of Leaves of Grass to Monica Lewinsky, causing the book to gain negative attention

from the press. This article is a fantastic source. It contains lots of claims and information

that are usually packed up by quotes from Whitman's poems. The amount of support

provided by Blake helps contribute to the useful nature of this source.

Cull, Ryan. "We Fathom You Not--We Love You: Wal T Whitman's Social Ontology and

Radical Democracy." Criticism, vol. 56, no. 4, Fall 2014, pp. 761-80. EBSCO eBook

Collection, EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=109093771&site=eds-live.

Accessed 21 Sept. 2017. Ryan Cull elaborates on Whitman's subtle ways of importing his
 social policies/preferences and ideas combined with democratic ideals into his works.

Whitman elaborates on this through "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by setting aside an

epistemological urge to speak with his readers and rather associate and be with them. The

efficacy of Whitman's message comes through his ability to persuade in free verse,

lengthy anaphora and other hidden figurative forms of language. Ryan Cull also argues

that Whitman has set apart a difficult task of identifying the unindentified people of

society who see themselves as 'the rest'. This source is potentially useful as it ties into

Whitman's ability to connect to radical social principles and ideas of self-identity, self-

thought and freedom for african americans and the acceptance of those otherwise seen as

unfit. What makes this source credible is that it is a published journal as part of Wayne

State University. This source is most likely of value to any person attempting to delve

deeper into Whitman's message and social principles.

Graber, Samuel. "Useful Antagonists: Transatlantic Influence, Sectionalism, and Whitman's

Nationalist Project." Walt Whitman Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 1, Summer 2009, p. 28+.

Academic OneFile,

go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T002&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchR

esultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=16&docId=GA

LE%7CA249053159&docType=Critical+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&pro

dId=AONE&contentSet=GALE%7CA249053159&searchId=R2&userGroupName=lap1

7ehs&inPS=true#. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017. Argues that, "faced with a splintering

American nation and the poibility of a militarized Mason-Dixon line, the antebellum

Whitman conceived of the Atlantic as the single relevant national border," leading him--

"in an improbable bid to exchange sectionalism for Anglophobia"--to attack "the

 obstacles of sectionalism and transatlantic influence by treating them as part of the same

problem, building his reputation as an authentically American writer through a strategic

conflation of sectionalist and transatlantic preures"; examines how Whitman's antislavery

writings "pa over the South as the primary object of criticism, and ... draw the

transatlantic scene from the periphery to the center of the narrative of American slavery";

and reads a number of Whitman's poems, including "A Boston Ballad," in the context of

Whitman's attempt to use British contempt for the United States as a spur for pulling the

nation together. This source is potentially useful in that it analyzes the begginings of

Whitman's exposure to the public eye en masse and surrounding influence. It is also

credible in that it was published in a scholarly journal.

Henkel, Scott. "Leaves of Grassroots Politics: Whitman, Carlyle, and the Imagination of

Democratic Vistas." Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, vol. 27, no. 3, Winter 2010, p.

101+. Academic OneFile,

go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=tel_a_uofmem&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA

249058716&it=r&asid=6491f25362c074a694d2ec6e5051ea65. Accessed 21 Sept. 2017.

The main argument talks about Whitman's connection to the idea of democracy.

Metaphorically speaking, Whitman looks toward the future of democracy because it "has

yet to be enacted." This comes from Whitman's essay 'Democratic Visas' , which argues

for the coming age of democracy in America by necessitating the understanding of the

past America. This source is potentially useful in that in provides perspective in

Whitman's love for and pursuance of democracy. This is a credible source in that it

comes from a scholarly journal that has used a plethora of citations to justify itself. This
 source may be of value to somebody attempting to Understand Whitman's essay and the

figurative language surrounding it.

Huff, Randall. "For You O Democracy" Encyclopedia of American Poetry, 2-Volume Set,

Second Edition, Facts On File, 2013. Bloom's Literature,

online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/24386?q=Whitman AND America AND

democracy. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017. Randall Huff discusses Whitman's views of what a

just democracy are and how he put these views into his poetry. Personally, Whitman

viewed democracy as a place that provided acceptance and equal rights for every

individual. He wanted the country to become more united and kind to each other. Huff

looks at how these views manifest in Whitman's poem, "For You O Democracy." In this

poem, Whitman rejoices in his dream of a utopian American society. He wishes he had

godlike powers so he could make "divine magnetic lands" and enact change by planting

companionship "thick as trees." He sings this dreams to Democracy, which he addresses

as "ma femme" (this means my woman in French). Huff's piece shows fantastic analytical

skills. He is able to both analyze a specific poem of Whitman's while also making more

general claims about a larger theme found in Whitman's work. This source will be very

useful.

Kateb, George. Walt Whitman and the Culture of Democracy. Political Theory, vol. 18, no. 4,

1990, pp. 545571. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/191541. Walt Whitman is a

philosopher of the culture of democracy. He also tries to uncover and disclose the moral

and existential significance of rights which people are given as a result of being part of a

democratic system. He also discusses democratic individuality in his work. "Song of

Myself" is the work of Whitman's where his individualists efforts are the most
 significant. This poem is not only about one's self but also the "inexhaustibility of the

soul and the power of the self to observe the soul and make democratic poetical

understanding." Whitman portrays himself as a great composite democratic individual.

The author did not seem to have any existing bias' contributing to his opinions. I think

this source will prove to be immensely useful as it is packed with a perfect balance of

information and analysis.

McPhail, Scott. "Lyric Nationalism: Whitman, American Studies, and the New Criticism." Texas

Studies in Language and Literature, vol. 44, no. 2, Summer 2002, p. 133+. Academic

OneFile,

go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lap17ehs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA8638

6523&it=r&asid=b678f14e158119b42ab5e30ce5bdc95e. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017. This

article discusses the manner in which American Studies has interpreted Walt Whitman's

poetry. Topics include patriotism, American identity, postwar literary criticism, and the

literary canon. It argues that American poetry emphasizes lyric nationalism, or a common

goal/pursuance of American identity and ideology. Lyric nationalism finds its root in: the

rise of American Studies in the academy; the focus on genre in the value judgments of

the New Criticism; and the particular social and political function of literature in the

years just following World War II. This source is potentially useful in that in attempts to

understand the motive and subsequent message of Whitman and other transcendentalists.

It is credible in that it was published in a literary journal for a University. This source

may be of value to a person attempting to comprehend the workings of transcendentalists

and their relation to the formation of american identity through lyrics.

Redding, Patrick. Whitman Unbound: Democracy and Poetic Form, 1912-1931. New Literary

History, vol. 41, no. 3, 2010, pp. 669690. JSTOR, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/40983890. Whitman is known for associating democracy with the

rejection of traditional poetic meter and rhyme. For instance, his belief of freedom of

authority through his hatred in rhyme and metrical measurement in "Ventures, on an Old

Theme." Additionally, Whitman argued that the democratic poet must avoid artificial

diction. The work, "Poetry: A Magazine of VErse," edited by Harriet Monroe, echoes

certain beliefs that Whitman expresses in his preface to Leaves of Grass. This source

compares Whitman's work and beliefs with other writers. The author exhibits a deep

knowledge of not only Whitman, but also other writers and how he relates to them. This

demonstrates how much knowledge the writer has on this topic, making him more

credible.